Forbidden Love
by Advicepuppy
Summary: A continuation of FL, originally by Liljj. Lucille, an ISA sniper, falls in love with Koen, a Helghast trooper. They then must survive as they deal with the consequences of their decision. Liljj has given me permission to continue. ADULT CONTENT
1. Chapter 1

This is "Forbidden Love" originally written by Liljj. I contacted her not too long ago, inquiring about an update, and she told me that due to the military and how apparently time consuming it is (ho would've guessed?), she is unable to continue this tale. I told her how much I adored stories like this, and offered to take it up in her stead. She agreed, and here I am carrying a torch once held by a fellow writer. I will tell you now, I am DEEP in the process of writing my own fanfic, however I will not forget about Forbidden Love. It will be addressed eventually, I can tell you that. When? I am not sure. Updates will likely be far between, but it's better than never seeing this wonderfully developed story again. I will upload all existing content, including any of the original author's notes that are relevant. After that, what you read is me, inspired by a fellow author.

So, here it is: "Forbidden Love", written by Liljj.

"Lucille! Left flank!" Captain Narville yelled. Lucy aimed her VC32 Sniper Rifle into the direction the Captain had ordered. About 400 meters away a lone Helghast soldier stood behind a giant mound of rubble, with his StA-52SE Assault Rifle gripped tightly in his quivering hands. She peered through the scope of her weapon, and stared down the creature. Lucy felt her heart stop in her chest, a cold bead of sweat trickling down her face. she aimed down the sight but did not shoot, she just knelt there as if she had seen something horrible. "What the hell do you think you're doing! Shoot the bastard Lieutenant!" Narville demanded again. She slowly put the gun down with shaky hands and looked up at her Captain. It was so hard to speak, she felt like her throat was on fire. Finally, after a moments peace, she choked out the words

"I-I can't Captain.." He just stared down at her with wide eyes, starting to fill with anger. Seeing him for even a second after those words was painful, so she quickly dropped her eyes to avoid his penetrating gaze. He pushed her away without even thinking, and took the large weapon from her hands. She didn't know what was going on, what was going to happen. It was like a blur, she looked up again and saw her Captain aim at the Helghast, who dropped his weapon to the cold and unforgiving ground. She looked at the Helghast and then back at Narville. She pushed herself up with a force of adrenaline so strong she didn't even realize she did it.

"No! Narville!" she screamed, driving him down, making the sniper clatter to the ground. The single shot of the sniper's bullet whistled through the air and lingered in her mind like the beating of a drum. She searched for the Helghast desperately, tears filling her eyes and impairing her vision. There was no sight of him-at least as far as she could tell. There were too many corpses and wounded lying on the blood-stained earth to know for sure. In the middle of her distressed search, two strong hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled them away from her hunt. Narville looked her straight in the eye with tough and callused hands on her arms. Tears continued to stream down her face, she tried to look down in humiliation but Narville stopped her.

"Look at me" he said in a cold, demanding voice. She slowly looked up to him and met his gaze, his muddy brown eyes looking back at her.

She tried to speak, but it was very difficult. All she did was take sharp, quick breaths.

"Calm down, Lieutenant. What the hell happened back there?" he asked. She gathered her thoughts and took a deep breath and said strongly,

"I…I love him.." She said, a crack in her voice. His eyes widened, and they resumed to the unrelenting and piercing gaze they were before.

SMACK!

Lucille fell to the ground, her hand covering the cheek that is now bright red from Captain Narville. She looked up at him, her hand still hiding her wound.

"What the fuck are you thinking? Being infatuated with a Goddamn Hig? You traitor! I don't even know what to say to you, Lucille…" Narville pinched the bridge of his nose with his rough fingers, pacing back and forth. A couple meters behind him, Sev, Rico, and about five other troops stood, fidgeting and looking the other direction. Narville turned towards them and said, "Head to the pick-up base, I'll meet you there." They stood there, confused for a moment. "Well? Go!" Captain yelled. They all quickly turned around and headed back, taking one last glance at Lucy.

Narville looked back at her and scoffed. "I mean, how the hell could you even have time to…ugh nevermind." He sighed, stopping his pace and standing in front of her. She got to her knees and removed her hand from her face. She looked up at him, speculating what her punishment would be. He knelt down to be at eye-level with her, and he tore off the badges from her uniform and threw them to the ground in front of her. She froze in fear, looking at the badges lying helplessly on the filthy ground, and back up at a broken-hearted companion.

"You leave me no choice, Lucy. If you're going to be one of them , so be it. I can't have you with the ISA anymore. I can't afford you screw up and cost other men's lives. I'm sorry." He got up from his knees and picked up the sniper rifle, walking away with heavy footsteps. Lucy put her arms around herself in a poor attempt to comfort, but no luck. She watched as her closest ally disappeared before her, her father-figure. In the midst of her dread, she thought about Koen. The Helghast she loved, whom she had no idea if he was still living. With a forced effort, she brought herself to her feet and marched forward to seek her lover. Memories of the past entered her mind and filled her with slight happiness. The day she met Koen was the day her life had changed forever. She staggered forward to her new home, with the ISA left behind and the Helghast in her future. She stopped and closed her eyes, the scent of Helghast flowing through her senses, releasing locked-up memories.

_Approximately 5 Weeks Prior_

It was still. The environment was cold and harsh, and yet a populace flourished in it. The planet of Helghast was glorious to its people, appalling to outsiders. The tall Helghan slowly marched through the overgrown shrubs and burned down ruins. His movements were strained yet strong. In the distance, black and gray smoke radiated from outlying wreckage. He passed by derelict tanks and transportation vehicles. The Helghast's orange goggles glowed in the fog, visible from far away. He held his M82SE Assault rifle in his large hands, dragging it on the hard, callous soil. In his other hand, the Helghast held his arm over his side, where blood stains were eminent. All was silent, but far from peaceful. He searched for the pickup bay, but had lost his sense of direction after passing out from blood loss hours ago. The battle had moved north, where there were distant screams of pain and the rumbles of bombs and explosions. The Helghast grew exhausted and sat down on a bent portion of metal, more than likely ran over by a tank. He stared at the ground for a long moment when he noticed something in the corner of his eye. He looked up, gazing at a body. He squinted, but could not focus his vision on the corpse. He got up with a grunt, and strode over to the deceased. It was a young woman. He knelt down beside her and moved his eyes over her body. His heart raced with a confused look on his face, speculating why he felt this way. The female looked to be alive, radiant color in her face. She appeared to be perhaps Hispanic and Italian. She seemed to be in her mid to late twenties, her dark hair tussled about. It was perhaps a little longer than shoulder length. She was indeed very attractive. While the Helghast was gawking at her beauty, he noticed an ISA badge on her uniform, accompanied by many others. He was about to lean over to look closer at her insignia when he become aware of her stomach rising and resting. He quickly jerked his head up and looked at her face. Her eyebrows came together as if she were uncomfortable. She began grumbling while she was awakening, and the Helghast looked around hastily, wondering what the hell to do. He just froze, watching the beautiful woman open her dazzling hazel eyes, full of confusion and worry. The Helghast gripped his weapon and stepped back, prepared for a fight. The ISA troop lifted herself off the dirty ground with her arms and quickly crawled about a meter away from the ghastly figure in front of her. She breathed heavily and glared at the creature, searching her clothing for a weapon. The man got to his feet quickly and aimed his assault rifle at the woman's head. She peered straight into the barrel of the gun, frozen. Sweat ran down her neck and her heart pumped in her throat. The Italian lifted her eyes to meet burning orange goggles. If she didn't know any better she would have thought he were a demon.

"D-don't shoot." She said with all the power she possessed. The Helghast tilted his head to the side.

"And why shouldn't I?" she thought for moment, trying to find an excuse. She stared at his mask blankly when he interrupted her thoughts with the sound of a cocked gun. "Well?"

"Well…why are you here anyway? The war has moved on and yet you still are here, wondering the empty streets. You are obviously wounded..." she said, gazing at the mass of blood on his torso. "So you must be lost…" she quieted down on the last part of her sentence, trying to avoid angering the Helghast. He kept his rifle on her forehead for a moment longer, what seemed to her like years. He then relaxed his arm and removed the gun's snout from her face. The Italian let out a quiet sigh of relief. She looked up at him and waited for a response. Nothing. So she kept going, convinced that bullshitting was working. "So if you let me go without being injured or killed, then I will help you get back to your…people."

"What makes you think you can help me? A human? Nonetheless a woman.." He sneered with a deep voice. She scrunched her nose in disgust.

"Hey! Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I'm not any help! What the hell do you think I'm doing out her? Shooting you bastards that's what!" she stopped suddenly, fearing she had crossed the line. Then in the midst of the silence, muffled laughter came from his mask.

"Well if that's what you were doing, you weren't doing a very good job at it." He said. The ISA frowned at him, but she honestly was slightly reassured because of his laughter. But then her hint of hope disappeared when he pointed his gun at her once more.

"Well, it was fun talking with you miss. But you're no use to me. I'm gonna have to kill you." The Helghast said. Right when he said that he dropped his rifle and clenched his wound. "Arghhh ughhh…" He moaned in pain, lifting his hand off his stomach to reveal blood smothered on his gloved hand. She looked at his wound with fear in her eyes. It looked like a large whole, or rather a misshaped circle of flesh dripping with blood.

"You're really hurt… I-I can help you if you let me live.." She offered in the most convincing voice she could muster. He lifted his head and gazed at her for a long moment.

"Fine. But if you try anything, I'll shoot your Goddamn head off." He said coldly, picking up his weapon with his free hand. The woman looked around for something she could grab for defense, but the Helghast stopped her. "Get up." He ordered. She did not hesitate. She picked herself up with shaking legs, and regained her balance on the broken rubble she had earlier passed out on.


	2. Chapter 2

The Helghast turned around and starting walking away, expecting she follow him. The woman stood there for a few seconds wondering what to do. He stopped and turned around, when she got the hint "Sorry!.." She said, looking down. He turned back around and continued his pace. "Don't be sorry just hurry your ass up. I can't have you be a delay." He murmured. The ISA soldier looked at the back of his head for a moment trying to think of something to say, but couldn't. So she hurriedly walked behind the Helghast, trying to keep up with his quick strides. He turned his helmet towards her and asked, "Do you have a weapon with you?" She searched herself, and pulled out about a 6inch pocket knife from her belt. She held it in front of her so they could look it over. "Does this count?" she said, turning the blade over. "No." He said abruptly, his head turning and scanning the demolished landscape. She put the knife back into her belt. "There," he said, pointing a strong arm in the direction of 3 deceased Helghasts, "Take one of their rifles." He said, still walking. Knowing he wasn't going to stop for her to take her sweet time stealing guns from cadavers, she rushed over to them. One of their helmets was blown completely off, with a huge gash in their forehead with blood and brain still slowly oozing out, made by a sniper perhaps. His skin was extraordinarily pale. She covered her mouth and nose with a free, gloved hand and used the other one to pull a StA-3. She had to use all the strength of her right arm to pull it out because not only was a large, muscular dead Helghast laying on it, but it was a very large machine gun. She managed to get it out when she noticed the Helghast about 3 meters away, walking slowly. She knew she could shoot him from here. She should shoot him. But she didn't. The Helghast stopped in his tracks and waited for her. He was on to her. Crap! She thought. She stepped away from the carcasses and hurried back to her captor. He glanced at the large gun, and back into the distance. After a long moment of stillness, the female ISA cut the silence. "We have to do something about that wound…" She said, looking at the large abrasion in his chest. Blood continued to trickle from it. He looked down and breathed sharply in pain. "And what do you suppose we do?" He said, grunting. She had a small first-aid kit in one of her many large pockets, hopefully it would be enough to sustain the injury, for now at least. "I have a first aid kit, and I usually serve as the medic on my team. We have to find a uh…less grubby place to address the wound." She said, moving her glance from the gash to his orange goggles. A few moments passed when he answered, "A lot of these buildings where built with cellars, we are probably going to have to clear some debris to get into one." He said in a weak and low voice. "Well we better find one fast, your losing a lot of blood." She said, looking around. The man started walking towards a large building, the top part of it completely missing and black from an earlier fire. He threw chunks of cement and objects from the side of the destroyed home, one of his hands pressed on his abrasion. The woman wondered if he held it to ease the pain, or to stop the blood. Then she wondered if they felt pain at all. She strode over to him, helping rid the wreckage and reviled to wooden doors sealed shut by a large metal combination lock. She jumped when all the sudden the Helghast shot the lock off, shooting dozens of small holes in the wood as well. They clanged together at the force of the bullets. He bent over and opened the doors, expecting the ISA to go through first. She looked at him and clenched her gun in her hands, and quickly walked down the stairs into a dark and dusty room. She aimed her gun into the darkness, when the glow of two large eyes came up next to her. She didn't notice how tall he was until then, the Helghasts goggles maybe 6 feet in the air. She moved her head from his eyes and back into the dark room, waiting for him to do something. A clang echoed through the small room, and a plastic cup rolled to his feet in the light of the open cellar doors. He picked it up and examined it with his bloody hand, the cup still wet with water. He dropped the cup and aimed his large rifle into the empty space, luckily his rifle had a flash light attached to it. He continued to gaze into the light of his gun and moved his free hand onto the woman's gun, and with a little pressure came a light on hers as well. She felt stupid not knowing there was a light on her weapon. The Helghast removed his hand from her gun and placed it back on his own. He moved forward against a wall and slid one of his hands against it, and flicked on a light. The room was quite small compared to what she had imagined, tall shelves scattered all over and piles of old clothes, blankets, and bed sheets lay on the dusty floor. The Helghast moved around a shelf and pointed his gun behind it, small quivering coming from it. "Get out" the Helghast said in his most menacing tone. Two children stood up from behind the shelf, they looked to be malnourished and pale. One was bald and one had short, fine dark hair. They both looked at the ISA soldier with terrified looks on their faces, as if begging for help. They looked back at the tall alien with fear. "Go I said!" he hissed at them. They winced at his voice and ran passed the Helghast and passed the ISA, quickly trotting up the stairs, the taller bald one holding onto the younger one's arm. Then they were gone. She looked back at the Helghast who was surveying the area. "They where just kids.." She said, putting her gun down with her exhausted arm. He raised his head at her and said, "Then you should be glad I didn't shoot their asses." And he continued rummaging through what was left behind. She went back to her thoughts and decided that Helghasts truly do not feel pain. "See, you people have no fucking feelings!" She said, almost in a whining tone. He stood up and glared at her for a long moment. "And see, you humans are so stuck up in your asses you think you're so high and mighty, yet you have many flaws, greed, lust, pride. You're just as fucked up as we are." He said. She couldn't think of anything to say to that. After all, it was kind of true. She walked over to him and knelt down beside him, watching him take old bed sheets and blankets and laying them on the floor. "So…" the woman continued. The Helghast looked up at her. She got nervous and stuttered a bit. "What's…your name?" She asked. "Koen." "Oh." She said. He continued to lay out sheets when he asked, "What's your's?" "Mine? Uh um it's Lucy." She said, looking away. Koen sat down on the bed of sheets and looked at the woman. She cocked her head in confusion. "Well? Are you going to fix me up or what?" He said, his voice getting fainter. Lucy could tell he lost massive amounts of blood. "Yeah…lay down." She said, pulling the first-aid kit from her pocket. It was about as big as her hand. She unclipped the lock on it and opened it up, revealing a couple rolls of bandages and gauze, a small container of alcohol and tweezers for extracting bullets. "Perfect." Lucy said quietly under her breath. She looked back at the Helghast. "You got shot, correct?" "Y-yeah.." He stuttered. She opened the supposedly "bullet-proof" vest and uncovered yet another layer of clothing. She didn't want to take it off herself and with a little pushing he reluctantly took off the upper articles of clothing, exposing his bare chest. A gaping bullet hole continued to bleed on the right side of his chest, right on his rib cage. She suspected a broken rib or two, nothing too life-threatening seeing as how he made it this long. She examined the hold and took the alcohol from the box. She twisted the cap open and said "This might sting". And with that she poured a small amount onto his injury, making him wince at the burning sensation. She then took some gauze and patted the extra blood away from the hole and took some tweezers to it. "I'm sorry, but I don't have anything to ease the pain." She started fishing out the bullet when he heavily breathed and moaned until she finally got it out, and held it to the light. It was about an inch long and about .20 mm in diameter. "Holy shit it's huge!" Lucy said, putting the bullet into the kit. Koen relaxed his body and panted, sweat perspiring on his chest. "Sit up for a second" She said, holding a roll of bandage. He slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. She wrapped the bandages around his torso, covering the wound. "It should heal well." She said, putting everything back. "But I think we should stay her for a night so you get some rest." She said. "No, we have to keep going." He persisted. She watched as he put on his uniform. "We have to stay here for a while, at least for the night." She said sternly. "Fine, but I won't be sleeping any time soon." "Fine by me!" She snarled, getting up and walking to the other side of the room, near the door. Koen watched and said, "I don't think so." Lucy rolled her eyes and grabbed a blanket and walked about 2 meters away from him, not too close to the exit. She laid down on her makeshift bed and stared at the ceiling as if she was a child that just got scolded. Koen sat against a wall and held his rifle against his chest. The light coming through the doors began to fade, the sky turning red and different shades of gray. Acid rain began to fall from the sky, and Lucy got up and closed the cellar doors. She laid back down and tried to relax, eventually drifting into a deep sleep. 


	3. Chapter 3

Koen sat against the wall across from Lucille, staring blankly at her. She looked peaceful, and comfortable. He remembered his childhood, and the day he turned 12, which the day he was torn from his mother and sister to go prepare for the war. In the academy where the elite Helghast troops trained children for battle, he among many others were taught to hate and distrust humans. They were said to be unethical and prejudice, thought to be the superior race. But after experiencing first-hand what a human is like, they don't seem to be anything like they are in the books. Koen thought long and hard and contemplated whether she was fooling him, or she was genuinely worthy. He began to relax and eventually drifted into a light sleep.

Lucy crawled away on the cold, filthy dirt, blood trailing from her torn body. The Helghast kicked her side, knocking her on her back, and stomped on her vulnerable stomach. Crimson fluid spewed out of her mouth accompanied by furious coughing, tears of pain and agony welling up in her eyes.

She awoke, gasping and almost on the verge of tears. Sweat accumulated on her forehead and chest. It was just a dream. She glanced around the dark room, spotting two menacing orange eyes in the distance. She couldn't tell if Koen was asleep or not, but she didn't want to find out. Lucy rolled over to the opposite side of the eerie glare and tried to fall asleep, eventually succumbing.

The next morning, the sound of footsteps stirred Lucy. She opened her eyes, seeing nothing but blur for a few moments, and then everything was clear. The cellar doors were open, with a fierce light penetrating through the darkness. Lucy rubbed her eyes, and sat up in her pile of old sheets, remembering what had happened the day before.

Koen stood outside, looking around the destroyed town. The sun rose over the horizon painting golds, pinks, and blues in the sky, as if saying there was still beauty in this war-infected planet.

He looked behind him and saw Lucy peaking out of the side of the entrance.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, just give me a sec." She said, grabbing her StA-3 and walked up the steps into the daylight. The air smelled musky and of rotting corpses. Lucy pulled the collar of her shirt over her mouth to avoid the unpleasant smell. They began walking, distant sounds of war echoing through the rubble and towers of ruins. "…Did you sleep?" Lucy asked. He grunted as if in a bad mood,

"maybe for an hour, tops." He said. _Obviously. _She thought to herself.

"so where are we going?" She asked. Koen lifted a finger in the direction they were heading, to a large building, about 5 or 6 kilometers away. It would take about the whole day to get there, that is if they don't run into any trouble.

"That is one of our headquarters. We restock our weaponry there mostly."

"But…what are you going to do with me once we get there?" She asked with a worried look on her face.

"I bring you in." He said. Lucy's eyebrows creased together.

"But they'll kill me! You said you wouldn't kill me you ba-" Koen cut her off,

"I said that _I_ wouldn't kill you, nothing about _them_." There was silence for a long moment. Lucy tried to think of something to say, anything, a last resort. Then she said,

"But I helped you! If it weren't for me you would probably be dead right now!" she protested.

"And I'll be dead if they knew I was helping you." He said coldly. She stopped walking, and stood there, glaring at the Helghast. Koen stopped and turned around, waiting for her to speak.

"You know what? Fuck this, I'm leaving. I'll find my way without you." And with that she started walking away down an alleyway.

"Fine, you won't last long here by yourself anyway…" He said back to her. Before she turned the corner, she looked back at him, seeing Koen watch as she disappeared from his view. She turned back around and continued through the alley, littered with garbage and bullet shells. The pathway was long and dark, with shapes and figures on either side that gave Lucy chills down her spine. She passed by garbage bins and shopping carts full of old clothes, a toy here and there, where a homeless Helghast probably valued it.

As Lucy was almost out of the alley, a trash bin knocked over behind here. She froze with fear, and gripped her rifle tightly, turning around and aiming it into the darkness. All she saw was indeed, a knocked over trash can, large insects scurrying around it. Satisfied that it was just some kind of animal, she turned around and was brought to her knees with a kick in the stomach.

She coughed profusely and looked up to see a man, a Helghast, but a civilian. He wore tattered clothes, and was vary pale with stubble on his chin and cheeks. He was muscular but thin.

"What the fuck!" Lucy yelled. The Helghast laughed and kneed her in the face, and she fell down on her back. She propped herself up on her elbows and spat out blood over her shoulder. She tried to hold her gun up at him but he knocked it out of her hands. Then she heard a peculiar sound, somewhat like sobbing. It was coming from behind the Helghast. She looked over his leg and saw a Helghast woman, about 30 years old, with short dark hair, her dress torn and bruises lay all over her arms and scratches placed on her legs. Her hand covered her mouth while she sat there crying, looking at Lucille with bitter sadness in her eyes, as if she felt sorry for her.

"Shut up, Amory!" The man yelled back at her, then facing his eyes towards Lucy.

"What the hell do you want Hig?" She snapped. A crooked smile formed on his flawless face as he said,

"You know what I want baby." Lucy's eyes widened as she looked around desperately for an exit. He leaned down towards her with a large, rusty knife pointed at her neck. She lifted up her leg and kicked the Helghast in the chin, knocking him to his butt, and she got up and grabbed her gun when another Helghast appeared in front of her way out. He was more burlier, and had a scar on his face, starting from his left eyebrow all the way to his chin. She was about to hit him with her bulky weapon, but he grabbed it instantly.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing with a gun like this?" he hissed in a thick British accent. He grabbed the rifle and threw it to the ground, and put his arm around the woman. He looked at her chest and said, "Ohh an ISA souldier. Even better, eh Lewis?" He said.

Lewis got up and rubbed his jaw. "That ISA bitch almost popped my damn jaw out of place." He snarled.

"And a feisty one." The larger Helghast said. He moved his hand down to her ass when she growled,

"Don't you dare fucking touch me!" She tried getting away, but he was too strong. He pushed her to the ground, and got on top of her, kissing her neck. She tried to move her hands down to her belt to try and grab her knife, but Lewis got to it first and pulled it away from her.

"Oh no you don't" He said. She couldn't do anything, all she could do was use her voice.

"Help! Goddamnit! Someone?" She screamed as loud as she could into the air. The Helghast leaned up and moved his hands towards her pants while Lewis held her wrists above her head. Tears started to well up in her eyes, when all the sudden the scar-faced Helghast stopped and stared blankly at his hands, blood dripping on them from his mouth. Then the sound of a blade slicing through flesh sounded and he fell next to Lucy, his dead stare piercing her face. His neck was soaked in dark red liquid, a puddle of it forming under his head. She looked up with a tear streaming down her cheek when she saw Koen standing there with a bloody knife in his hand, his rifle in the other. She was too frightened and relieved to speak. The other Helghast let go of her wrists and got up, aiming a gun Lucy's head.

"You come any closer and I'll end her!" He yelled. Koen's rifle aimed towards the woman behind Lewis, who was quietly whimpering. Within seconds she was dead, brains splattered all over the wall. Lewis looked back and yelled

"No! Damnit!" He turned back around only to see the firing of a rifle, and in an instant he was on the ground quivering with convulsions. Blood spewed from his chest, and his spasms stopped. Three dead Helghasts in a matter of seconds. Lucy stared at Koen, not knowing what to say. Her head grew light and her breathes became short, tears still slowly flow from her glassy hazel eyes. Koen kneeled down beside her, checking for any injuries other than the obvious bruises on her face.

"Th-t-thankyou.." She blurted out between her short breathes.

"Calm down, your safe now. See, I told you that you weren't going to last long." He wiped the tears from her cheeks and pulled her up in a sitting position. She looked back at the dead bodies, and back at Koen.

"You killed them all.." She said quietly. A moment passed while Koen was gathering his thoughts.

"Yeah, I had to. They are the kind of Helghasts that give us a bad name. they're trash, and there are lots of others out there. If you weren't caught off guard you would have killed them too." He said.

"But the woman…"

"A prostitute. She wouldn't have lived a better life even if I spared her." Koen said.

"Why did you save me?" Lucy asked, looking at his red goggles.

"I don't know…" He said. It seemed like he was about to say something else, but he refused. They both sat there in they alley for a long moment, when Koen asked,

"So you think it's still better to travel alone?"

"No…but if you're still planning on taking me prisoner to your base then I will go by myself and find my people." She said, staring at the wall across from them.

"I don't know, I think you've been through enough shit today." He said.

"We should get going, I'll take you to your convoy."

"You know where it is?" she asked, surprised.

"…No, but we'll find it." Koen helped her to her feet, and picked up her rifle. "Here." He said, handing it to her. She took gladly took it, and they walked out of the nightmarish alleyway. It was midday now, and the sun was excruciatingly bright, burning through the gray clouds and smoke in the sky.


	4. Chapter 4

The pair were exceedingly close to the Helghast base. The structure stood well over 3 stories, with vulture-like creatures circling its peak. Soldiers entered and exited the building, continuously. Koen and Lucy stood behind a massive tree, slumped over with dangling, thick vines drooping from it. Lucy looked up at Koen and asked,

"What do we do now?" Koen stared at the large entrance, trying to brain storm a plan. The Helghast military huddled together in groups, some departing by aircraft, some by tanks. _The battlegrounds must be close by, _Koen thought. He looked up into the sky, shrouded in darkness by black and gray smoke. He looked down at Lucy, her brilliant hazel eyes gazing at him with worry.

"The battleground is not far from here, but you will be killed on sight if we travel through here. You're going to have to listen to me, and listen to me good, or you'll be fucked. Hear me?" He said sternly.

"Y-yes." Lucy said with a hesitation. Koen bent down to eye level and put his gloved hands on her petite shoulders.

"You're going to be my 'prisoner', and we will go into the building, and I'll lock you up in one of the cells."

"Lock me up? Are you-"

"Listen! After nightfall, it will be less guarded. I'll take a Helghast uniform, and you put it on, so they wont know your identity. If anyone asks anything about you, let me talk. Understand?" He asked. It was a lot of information to soak in, she thought for a second before answering.

"Yes."

"Good. I'll escort you to the battlefield, but since you will look like one of us, you will be fired at by the ISA. As soon as we get near, you have to take the mask off so they recognize you. I'll cover you." He said, getting up on his legs, slightly shaking from exhaustion. A few silent moments passed when she answered,

"I don't know how to thank you…" Koen looked down at her.

"Don't, because as soon as you get your ass back to your people, we are enemies." He said coldly. She said nothing, but instead waited for orders, watching a couple soldiers entering the massive complex. Before she knew it, her rifle clanked to the ground and her hands were tied behind her back with cloth.

"Wait- I'm not read-" She stopped, wide-eyed at a piece of her uniform being torn off to serve as a gag.

"We don't have all day." He said, and with that, he tightly fastened the dirty cloth around the ISA's head, covering her mouth. The taste off the fabric was foul, and whenever she breathed in through her mouth, she inhaled dust. She tried to breath through her nose after a long coughing session. Koen grabbed her by her forearm, and squeezed so tightly that she wondered if he was actually going to have her executed.

Lucy's anxiety radiated immensely from her face, her dark hair matted against her forehead and cheeks with sweat. Koen maneuvered her forward toward the Hellhole, as far as she knew, with Helghast masks following her. Every one she passed, she heard a catcall from their gas masks. One even patted Koen's back as if complementing on his 'catch'.

"Koen! So that's what you've been up to these passed days?"

"Aye, she's a beauty, isn't she?" He said back.

"Going to share mate?" The Helghast answered.

"Fuck no!" He yelled, and continued pushing her down poorly-lit hallways, and passed dozens of rooms. The doors were made of steal, with writing that was illegible to her. Some were open, revealing crates of weapons, and shelves stacked with armor and helmets. They passed a room with steam emanating from it, showers. The building had no windows, hence why it was so gloomy inside. They almost made it to their destination when a large, bulky Helghast stopped them. His mask had three orange eyes, instead of the usual two. He was a higher ranking soldier than Koen.

"Captain Dietrich." The other Helghast said. Koen saluted, and replied,

"Major Kaiser, sir." Kaiser bent down to study the ISA, and stood back up.

"Who is this? A Human woman? ISA. What are you doing with it?"

"Going to have some fun, if you know what I mean, sir." He chuckled lowly. A few seconds passed before he said,

"Well, you are aware that it is against Helghan code to perform sexual conduct with a Human…But since you are a hard-working and loyal soldier…I'll let it pass. But execute her quickly afterward. I cant afford to have Admiral Orlock discover this under my power."

"Yes, sir. Thank you." Koen said, bowing his head slightly. Lucy closed her eyes as the Major strode by, watching her as he passed. She breathed profusely out her nose, and attempting to breath through the sides of her mouth. Koen guided her through the hallway and stopped in front of a steal door that bore the characters "2156A7M" in the Helghan language.

Koen entered a code into a computer pad lock next the door. It slid open, and he nudged Lucy inside, and the exit closed behind them. He untied her wrists and undid the gag, tossing them into a waste basket near a large, metal desk. It was a descent-sized room, with a twin-sized bed in one corner, and a glass case with various weaponry inside it. The desk near the door was covered with papers and important-looking documents and manila folders, and a single lamp that serviced the whole room. There was also a pistol laying among the papers, with its magazine laying beside it. The walls were empty, beside a lone clock that hung above the desk, which read 8:28 (pm). Its hands clicked loudly in the dead silence.

"I thought you were taking me to a prison cell." Lucy said, in a dreamy voice, occupied by the room. He turned and looked her, watching her eyes dance across the various objects that reside in his room.

"Yes, I was. But there were too many guards there, I wouldn't have been able to get you out easily. So I brought you to my quarters instead." He said.

She took her eyes off the room and relaxed them on the Helghast.

"When should we leave?" She asked.

"Tomorrow. As soon as the sun rises." He said. He turned around and walked to the desk, removing his helmet. His hands fidgeted under his chin. Lucy watched as he detached his breathing apparatus and set it gently on the table before him. He faced Lucy, and to her surprise, he looked fairly normal. In all her years of battling Helghasts, she never imagined them to look like Koen did. Or perhaps, he is one of a kind.

He had dark, brown eyes, so dark that you could barely make out the pupil, but in the light, a hint of amber could be visible. His head was bald, but it looked to be buzz cut because his hair was extremely short, like peach fuzz, and had five 'o clock shadow. He had defined cheek bones and a rough look to his face, but overall he was quite handsome. There were no deformities at all, as if he was perfect. But she noticed a large scar starting on the middle of his neck down to where she couldn't see; his clothing blocked the rest of his body.

"H-how's your wound healing?" She asked, dazed. Koen looked down and pressed his hands against his torso, wincing slightly.

"Not sure, you should take a look." He said, undoing his torn, blood-stained jacket. It took about five minutes to remove all the clothing and armor from his chest. Lucy gawked at him, losing her train of thought. He coughed slightly, gaining her attention.

"So? How does it look?"

"Oh , yes." She said, shaking her head. She walked closer to him, slowly removing the bandages from the wound. It was healing quite nicely, a large scab already forming over it. Helghasts were known to have exceptional healing time. She took the bloody gauze and dropped it into the garbage, and said,

"It's looking really good, you should be completely healed by tomorrow." She looked back at him, observing his strong figure. He was very well-built, with sculpted abs and rough arm muscles. The scar on his neck reached down to right above his peck. She stared at dog tags dangling from his scarred neck when she noticed a tattoo on his right shoulder and strode over to him so she could further examine it. He watched as she looked at his shoulder, and said,

"Oh yeah, that… Helghast soldiers are required to get a tattoo of their ID number, instead of the traditional dog tags. Stupid idea if you ask me, what if your arm gets blown off? That's why I still wear my dog tags." Koen explained.

"I see." Lucy said, looking back into his eyes. There was an awkward silence for a few moments when Koen asked,

"Well…you must be tired. Would you like to rest?" He walked over to his bed. It was disorderly, with black and white sheets thrown on top of the mattress as if someone was in a hurry. He sat down, and sighed with relief. His legs were exhausted.

Lucy watched him with confusion, and eventually staggered over to the bed. She laid down cautiously, and rubbed her forehead with her delegate hand.

"Well, you have a nice place." She laughed lightly, trying to fill in the awkwardness. Koen looked over his shoulder at her, and laid down beside her, staring at the ceiling.

"It's alright, I suppose." He said. His voice was rough, strained with exhaustion. She turned her head towards him and asked

"So…how did you get that scar?" she said, staring at his neck.

Koen looked down at the scar that reached to his peck.

"Oh. I got it from fighting another Helghast. He just pissed me off one day, it started out as words, then as fists. He pulled out a knife and sliced right through my armor. But I pulled mine out and cut his throat. I still remember the blood spraying everywhere, the look on his face when he realized I had beat him. The sound he made when he tried to stop the bleeding, grabbing at his throat." He looked over at Lucy, she looked serine and calm. "That doesn't scare you?"

"No, not really. It was only your instinct. Besides, if you really were a heartless, bloodthirsty killer you would have murdered me a long time ago." She said, not taking her eyes off his.

They looked into each other's eyes, trying to predict each other's feelings. Koen moved onto his side, and stroked her russet hair. She did the same, turning on her side and caressed his cheek. It was like a dream, serene and calming, like no evil existed in the world, like Earth and Helghan were at peace. He closed his eyes and moved closer to her, as she did the same. She felt his hot breath on her quivering lips, her heart beating faster. Koen pressed his warm lips to Lucy's, his heart racing in his ears. She kissed him back, moving her hand across his neck, her fingers tracing the ridge if his jaw.

**Okay, that's all she wrote (lol). Anyway, I've been left to start at a... *ahem* peculiar spot, so we'll see where it goes. It might not even go the way I know you want it to. Anyway from here on out it's me. I hope you accept my preemptive apologies regarding how long it will be between updates as I am currently working on my own fic (I'd love if you read it. Think of this, except in Warhammer 40k, and a lot more grimdark as is required by any 40k story.) Updates will come... eventually. In advance, I thank you for reading, and I hope you will enjoy this story as much as I will continuing the work of a fellow author.**


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